With increasing and fast-paced shifts in customer behaviour patterns and workplace modalities, it is imperative that in the new decade we take necessary steps right away to be future-ready and future-engaged . The traditional approaches to work and workforce changes may not be enough.
Here are the five trends that IHCL MD&CEO Puneet Chhatwal told Mint will resonate in the new decade.
1) Digitization: Digitization is revolutionizing the way we work, we live and how we conduct business. Love it or hate it, the hospitality business cannot ignore it! Hotel companies will have to delight guests in a more connected way. These companies must endeavour to find the sweet spot between automated solutions and human interactions. In our hyper-competitive industry, big data analytics could be the key to get and sustain competitive advantages. The huge amounts of data available with hotel companies can provide meaningful and actionable insights that can radically reshape their strategy, besides being used to provide more personalised experiences on a greater scale.
2) Diversity: Successful organisations of the future will leverage the advantages of diversity in employment to achieve a competitive business advantage. With 10% of all jobs created globally, the travel and tourism sector is well placed to not only generate millions of jobs and boost employment but also enhance diversity by encouraging ethnic diversity as well as increased participation of women in the workforce. Policies and practices that are family-friendly, support all genders and are bias-free will certainly enable organizations to outperform those which do not embrace diversity.
3) Domestic tourism: India is a tourism powerhouse and the largest market in South Asia. While domestic tourism has seen a 10-fold increase in the last 2 decades, the best is yet to come. With improvements in infrastructure and connectivity as well as the rising affinity for travel, domestic tourism has the potential to grow multi-fold in the near future, thereby driving job creation as well as contributing to the GDP growth of the country. India’s culture and diversity has so much to offer in terms of heritage, architecture and experience.This will help position the country as a preferred destination for domestic and international tourism.
4) Do good, feel good: There is a tremendous focus today on giving back to society and driving sustainable development. The Tatas have always been pioneers in responsible behavior and environmental sustainability. IHCL takes pride in being the first Indian hospitality company to embark on a journey of single use plastic elimination and opening India’s first zero plastic hotel in the Andamans. On the social front too, companies must leverage their supply chain to enable livelihood opportunities for target communities. Responsible organisations will become platforms that bring greater scale and sharper focus on strengthening the communities and foster sustainable and inclusive growth.
5) Disruption: The near future will see evolving business models, enhanced collaboration and creation of synergistic ecosystems which could disrupt traditional businesses and enterprises. It is important to be aware of the changes in the external environment and be agile and nimble to not only respond but also pioneer such innovation in the organization.
The future world is exciting. Change is the only constant and if nothing changes then nothing changes.
[“source=livemint”]
